Method of making producer-gas.



i. VV. HORNSEY..

METHOD 0F MAKING PRODUCER GAS.v

APPLICATION FlLED ocT.9.19H. RENEWED Nov. 24, 1911. -V

lL pmlzo Patented my 2, ma.

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. W. HOHNSEY..

METHOD 0F MAKING PRODUCER GAS.

APPLICATION FILED ocT.9.191|. RE'NEWED Nov.24.19|7.

1gb-79%@ mmm July 2, 19m..

42 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Wl/fb" M? I 4 JOHN HOTLNSEY, O15' SUMMIT. NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL nnnucrrou das l AND JBY-PRODUCTS COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

METHOD OlE MARIEN G PRODUCER-GAS.

Application filed October 9, 1911, Serial No. 653,522. Renewed November 241, 1917.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it yknown that 1, JOHN W. lflonNsnY, a citizen of the United States, and a'resident of Summit, Union county, New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Method of Making Producer-Gas, of which the following is a' specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whith- Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of apparatus for use in carrying out my invention, and Fig. 2 is an end elevation partly in section of Fig. 1.

My invention relates to the manufacture of producer gas, and my method is designed to effect this ,in a continuous operation,in which the material utilized'llls continuously and repeatedly passed through a heated agitated zone, the various particles of the material .being repeatedly separated each from the others and brought into contact with the heated gases in the heated zone in such fashion as to expose the greatest amount of surface to chemical reaction, which is thereby expedited and rendered more ehi cient. By this method Il am enabled to recover a much higher percentage of heating values than by processes heretofore' used, and the apparatus which ll employ is much simpler and more durable than that used in the prior practices. As l am able to continuously feed the material, to continuously withdraw the ash, to maintain the temperatures which are most eilicient in producing the desired reactions, and also to constantly supply and maintain the material utilized in a state f constantly agitated subfd'ivision, the gas resulting from the employment of my process is much more uniform than that heretofore produced.

A further object of my invention'is to pr0- duce a gas substantiall free from tar, such as is particularly suita lefqr use in -lgas engines, in which the presenceV of -taris very detrimental.

l further object is the utilization of finely divided fuels.

Referring to the drawings, in which 1 have shown a typical or preferred type of apparatus to be used in carryinof out my invention, 2 is a metal shell or cylinder adapted to be rotated by any well-known means and preferably inclined from its feed end to its discharge end. This cylinder has a refractory lining 3; projecting from the surface of this lining are buckets 4, adapted to Specification of Letters Patent.

rarcntca 'Jury e, rare.

serial no. atenei.

elevate the material, and drop it down through cylinder 2, during the rotation/ thereof, in a substantially, uniformly dis tributed shower, these buckets 4t being locatedbetween the transverse ribsor rings 5. At the feed end 6 of the vessel is aconveyer 7 by which the material is admitted, andatthe discharge end S is an off-take 9, from'rvhicli the waste material is discharged. 10, 11, 12 and 13 are openings in the ends 6 and 8 through which an oxygen bearing agent such as air, steam or carbon dioxid, may be admitted to the apparatus, and 14, 15 and 16 are inlet ports` in the wall of the cylinder 2, and show one means through which an oxygen bearing or temperature.. controlling lagent such [as atmospheric air' may be admitted, if desired, to f assistin the regulation of the reactions'and temperatures. 17, 18,19 and 20 are outlets for the gas, various ones` of which may be used as desired. 21 is a gas burner which may be used as a starting device. 22 is a settling basin, in which the ash or waste is deposited. 23 are seals or Hexible joints to prevent the entrance or leakage of air or gas between the moving cylinder'2 'and the sta-, tionary ends 6 and 8. 24 is the outletof the conveyer 7, and is so designedthat it will always contain a sufficient quantity ogfpmaterial to preventA any leakage through the con-- veyer.

llt will be seen that my apparatuais of the fdouble ended type, and is capable ofbe ing used to carry out my invention in a varietyof Ways, and 'Twilldeseribe in connection therewith two typical examples of the ways in which my invention may be employed.

First: ln producing gas in which it is desired to recoverby-products from the fuel, 1 iirst pre-heat the cylinder by any suitable means, as by the burner 21, and when the cylinder has reached the desired temperature, ll begin to revolve it and to feed a small quantity of coal, or other carbonaceous material, in through the conveyer 7. As this'charge reaches the desired temperature 1 increase the feed of the material to the desired point and continue to revolve t-he cylinder, atthe same time admitting air, and if desired, steam, v.through the openings 12 and 13 in sufficient quantities to promote partial combustion. The revolution of the cylinder causes the buckets el to pick up the liti iii

material and shower it again and again through the oxidizing agent onto the bottom of the cylinder, exposing the largest possible surface to the reacting elements, 'which vshowering action, ineonnection with the .tumblingraction in' the bottom of the cylin- .der efectually removes the ash veil from the surface ofthe particles, which otherwise would pre-vent or retard the desired reaction.

'llhe gas begins to pass ofi from the material'shortly after it is fed into the lchamber, and can be led away either'through thefgas outlets 17 or^18,as desired. The form as shown in 18 enables the gas to release itself from dust which it may carry, since the gas impinges on the'surface of the Water in the outlet and deposits dust thereon, and the gasy substantially free from dust passes onto a,

suitable receptacle.

` After `the operation has proceeded far enough to insure'theeseiice of av suitable amount of carbonaced'tns material in a more I .A or less completely coked or distilled condiof the carbon to carbon dioxid at the lower temperature speedly,y raisesl the temperature of the cylinder to that point at which a producer gas containing principally ,carbon inonoXid-"and hydrogen (diluted With atmospheric nitrogen) is produced. Should the temperature increase tosuch an extent as to be undesirable, ll increase the How of steam.

rlhe oxidation of the carbon' to carbon monoxid is more than suiiicient to develop the degree of heat required for the production of the desired percentage of carbonmonoxid, and the introduction of the steam has, as is Well known, a cooling client on the gas generated in the cylinder, 'consequently i by properly regulating the flow of air and steam'll candecompose the carbon into a producer gas carrying a suitable amount of [Sensible heat to distil completely the material entering into the cylinder, (where this distillation is notexothermic), and the products of distillation are then carried oli by the out-going producer gas to be recovered from it in any Well known manner While the ash or Waste drops down through the off-take@ into the settling basin' 22, from which it is readilyvremoved. i

The oxidizing'agent in passing through the cylinder is diffused throughout its crosssectional area in a substantially uniform yolume, andthe material is also ldistributed uniformly so that reactions will take place 'ipx/epee uniformly throughout the' cross-sectional larea of the cylindei, and a uniform heat is therefore generated throughout a, vertical .cross-sectional plane taken at any given f1 point in the length of the cylinder.

i Second: When it is desired to produce a tar free gas, the apparatus is operated in the manner which I have specified above, except that the air to promote combustion is introf duced through the openings 10 and 11 at the feed end 6, and the gas is withdrawn from either the outlet 19 or 20. lit' desired, steam can also be introduced with the air, or sepa.-

. rately, or in the forni of water.

v When the apparatus is operated in the v manner first described, the gas is withdrawn through outlets 17 or 1S; as the fuel travels through the apparatus it is gradually heated, the volatile matter is distilled, and this volatile distillate traveling through and out ofthe apparatus with the gas, passes through Zones of gradually lowering teniperaturey At no point is it heated above the Itemperature of distillation, and consequently no chemical or physical change will be eected in the volatile until it leaves the apparatus and is cooled; then, only a physical change results, namely, condensation into tar or oil.

rllhe "tar-free gas,`however, produced by the second niethod of operation, is rendered tar-free because the gas is withdrawn through the outlets 19 or I2O, in which case the volatile, when distilled before it can "reach the outlets, passes through zones of 4graduallyincreasing temperatures. temperature 1s sufiicient, when a This proper amount of free oxygen is present, to eiiect a complete chemical change in the tars and foils, thus changing them chemically as well as physically into a fixed gaa 'As in the hist operation ll have described,

.the carbonaceous material as it travels from 'the feed end 6 toward the discharge end 8,

gradually rises in temperature; the volatile matter is distilled; and, air is introduced through openings 10 and 11. When the v temperature of combination is reached, the

oxygen of the air unites with-soiiie ol the 'constituents of the material. rlhis develops heat, producing principally carbon .dioxid (CO2), but also forming other gases containing hydrogen or carbon and of varying composition, depending upon the relative quantities of combining elements and the temperature of combination. As these gases carrying with them or meeting in their travel the requisite amount ot oxygen are led toward the outlets 19 or Q0 in a highly heated condition` they react chemically with the shower of 'falling material through which they must pass in order to reach the said outlets, and in these reactions carbon dioxid unites with carbon. forming carbon inonoxid, while some of the other gases are Lamer@ of the 'finally resulting gas areprincipally carbon monoxid and hydrogen.

ln my process ll am enabled to use finely divided materials by constantly-1showering them through the heated zone, Vthereby obtaining the heat necessary for distillation by contact, rather Vthan by conduction, so

-that lt effect distillation at comparatively' low temperatures, insuring an increased yield of by-products. lts the finely divided materialis dropped by the rotation of the cylinder or rolls over the bottom of the cylinder, the ash adhering to the surface of the particles is broken or rubbed off, and, in consequence, the particles are constantly presenting fresh surfaces to the heating gases until entirely converted into by-products, gas and ash. l

llt is clear, furthermore, that in the apparatus employed in carrying out my process there is no possibility of the formation of chimneys or bloiv holes, as the fuel is kept constantly and uniformly in motion'.

l-lence, any clinker formed by a fusing ash titi all

Adfi

`liti titi which agglomerates, will form into comparatively small masses, like the marbles from Portland cementkilns, and be autematically discharged Without adhering' to the interior of the cylinder, or without the necessity of manual breaking. With suitable grades of fuel and under proper tcm-v perature conditions the ash may be reduced to fluid form, and alliowed to flow or trickle from the cylinder, but Whether the ash be discharged as fluid or as marbles, it is clear that the action will in these cases cause the particles of ash to cohere, thus,minimiz ing the formation of dust and overcoming its 'accompanying disadvantages.

@bviously in the carrying ont of my invention, the fuel is maintained in a uniform condition by reason of the continued revolution of the cylinder by which it is repeatedly picked up from and showered down on the bottom' of the cylinder, and passes through the cylinder at afnniform rate of progress. lts travel will vnot be attended by the building up of bridges side ridges or like formations of clinker or ash, since the uniform action of the fuel renders the occurrence of such a condition impossible. This uniform condition and const-ant motion of fuel, moreover, renders unnecessary any manual disturbance or fpoking of the fuel during operation.

llt is obvious that the temperature and location of the heated zone may be so con trolled that the ash may be discharged at whatever temperature is deemed most desirable.

lllhere it is desired to use steam as the oxygen bea-ring agent, it may be introduced either as such or inthe form of Water or water vapor. lt may also inject oil, tar or other liquid hydrocarbons at any suitable point in the apparatus. llt is clear, also that Where the carbonaceous material is fed in uniformly, and the gas and ash withdravvn at a :constant rate, the quality and composition of 'the gas can obviously be maintained in a much more uniform condition than Where any or all of these operations are intermittent.

A further advantage that ll obtain is that by means of the separationof the particles of thel material the velocity of the oxidizing agent in traveling through the material is decreased, and the time of contact 'with the material is correspondingly increased, so 'that the resulting reaction is accordingly rendered more efficient.

ln my process the material is repeatedly passed through the oxidizing agent, and the oxidizing agent is repeatedly brought into contact with the material, thus overcoming any irregularity in the chemical reactions which 'would result from a single or partial 'contact of the oxidizing agent and the mate-` rial. ll am also enabled to utilize a finely divided fuel such as slack, coke breeze or sawdust; or one which disintegrates upon heating,0 such as lignite, or peat, because the oxidizing agent Will readily pass through *thel showering particles of such a substance,

which in my process has no opportunity to cake or agglomerate. As some of these fuels contain a large percentage of by-products7 the advantages to be gained by their utilization are very apparent, and, in any case, ll believe .that my process of utilizing such finely divided fuels bybringing them repeatedly into contact With an oxidizing agent, While in a state of constant agitation, is broadly new.

lin carrying out my process, l am enabled to cause the material to travel repeatedly through a path substantially at right angles with the axis of the cylinder and 'with the path of flovv of the oxidizing agent, thereby greatly increasing the length of travel o-f the material through said oxidizing agent., and causing the oxidizing agent in its travel to be repeatedly baffled by the moving particles of the material, and the amount of material with which any given quantity of the oxidizing agent comes into contact is likewise increased.

While l have described two typical 'Ways of carrying out my process, it is understood that many changes may be made therein by "lll lli

lill

llllll llllli llllll lllll l tllose skilled in the art, without departing `'from the spirit oli my inventionu What l desire to claim is y l.. The process of continuously making l'pi'.ttmlucer gasirom carbonaceous material,

which consists' in introducing carbonaceous material into a heated revolving vessel, caus ing the material to be retarded in its travel ing'tlle travel of tliematerial through tlie vessel, repeatedly elevating it, thereby inainnl taining the particlesl of the material in a' Y series ofV falling showers downthrougll tlae througlitlie vessel and toloe picked up and showered down in the interior of the vessel to maintain the material in' a nely divided and comminutedcondition, introducing an oxidizing agent into the' vessel while it -isbeing revolved, thus exposing the separated Y particles of the material to theaction of the oxidizing agent and Ytbe beat, the sliock of the Jfalling particles being adapted to disrupt their seared surfaces .and to presentfresh surfaces to the action or the heat and oxidizing agent with 'eacli revolution of the vessel, tbe `material and the oxidizingfagent being introduced into the vessel continuously.

r 2. 'llie process of continuously mal-ring v producer gas, which' consists in continuously introducing -carbonaceous material and an.-

onidizing agent into a lieated vessel, retard-4 vessel, whereby eaelrparticle lias all of its surfaces repeatedly exposed to the action of the heat andv the oxidizing agent, tlie seared surfaces oi? tbe particles being again and again broken on and fresia surfaces being again and again presented to the action ot Athe material with the heat Leraars 'the heat and the oxidizing agent, whereby `its travel through the vessel,` and by repeatedly picking'it up `and dropping it down through" tliegoxidizing agent in substantially iiniicnun sliowers of individual particles 1 whereby 'the oxidizing agent Ais baiiled by said particles, and a thorough contact of the material with tbe heat and the oxidizing agent is insured.

4l.' The process of continuously making producer gas, .which consists :in continuously introducing carbonaceous material and an oxidizing agent intoI a closed vessel in the presence of beat, constantly agitating the material to maintain it in a-iinely divided condition by repeatedly picking it up and Vdropigxing it in a plurality of series of showers, the shower of one series falling out of alinement with tlie showers of an adjacent series7 whereby tlie oxidizing agent is bullied by saidL particles and a thorough contact of and oxidizing agent insuredn JOHN W. HRNSEY.

Witnesses:

Anna Gnnunnnne, 

